Central Park Hotel

The hotel is not to bad. But it could give a lot better feel with only a few modifications.

Now you are constantly reminded that you are staying in a budget place.

a few examples :

* TV, there is one, but i could only find BBC's and a few foreing channels. forget about cnn cartoons ect.

* Bathroom, chrome was completly worn off from taps , plug in sink was not working.

* Breakfeast , the size of glasses besides the juice dispencer makes you think they are serving spirits there. So if your thirsty either camp the dispencer or take a lot of walks back an to your table. The juice is not fresh , but comes form plastic bags , so i dont know why they do this anyway.

There is a man dressed as a chef cook who serves heated canned tomatos , beans and sossages for english breakfeast.

He also serves as a "guard" for the slices of cheese and ham for wich you have to pay extra if you want them with you "continental" breakfeast.

The lobby is empty , no tourist info or brochures in sight.

All in all , i got the distinct impression i got the"ryanair" experience without ever flying :)

I would have felt cheated if i payed more then 100 a night for it all.

I stayed at the Central Park Hotel and have been very disappointed. It needs to be said that it´s location is excellent, next to Hyde Park and walking distance to Nottinghill.

Check-in however was ice-cold due to mostly East-European staff who did not smile, just performing robot-like actions. Although I had B&B confirmed, I was told that I had to pay 5 pounds extra for ham and cheese or 7.50 pound for hot items. Rediculous, so I declined. They informed me after having swiped my credit card already, so I could not get out of the hotel anymore.

The room was very small, think cruiseship cabins with similar size TV with mostly Arab and BBC channels. No CNN or international stations. Housekeeping was good though, with daily fresh towels and soap. Internet access had a surcharge.

Breakfast was a depressing experience in a room with long communcal tables and no natural light or music. It reminded me of Prison Break. It consisted of bread, butter, jam and cereals. Nothing more unless you ´upgraded´ to ham and cheese or sausages. Again, the cold and silent staff did not add to a pleasant experience.

The one exception was the evening concierge, a wonderful knowledageable chap who was of great assistance and made a difference. They should put him in charge of the facility.

Unless you get a very good deal (50 pounds or less), I would not stay here. And if you do, don´t contract breakfast. Instead, go to the many restaurants, sidewalk cafes and pubs nearby and enjoy breakfast with a view on Hyde Park (Cafe Diana for instance, filled with pictures of the late Princess of Wales). Probably cheeper and defintely more memorable.

Clean and spacious room. Rather quiet although on ground floor. Reception staff was friendly but rather disorganized and slow. Booked a single room but got a big twin room so it was comfortable. Great value for money. High standard for London.